Foyt IV

INDIANAPOLIS -- If A.J. Foyt IV came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by any other name, simply qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 as an 18-year-old would have been a tremendous accomplishment.

But considering the youngster shares the same lineage as his grandfather, the first four-time winner of the Indy 500 and considered by some to be the greatest race driver of the 20th Century, the expectations are very high. That is why young Foyt had a baptism by fire at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during Sunday's Pole qualifications.

The driver who turns 19 on race day survived a spectacular backwards drive down the backstretch after spinning out on his first qualification attempt.

Later in the day, young Foyt also had to endure the wrath of his grandfather after he put the car in sixth gear during his four-lap run that produced an average speed of 224.177 miles an hour in a Dallara/Toyota -- the second-slowest speed of the 24 cars in the field so far.

"What were you in sixth gear for?" Grandpa Foyt bellowed at his grandson on pit lane. "I told you to keep it in fifth and you put it in sixth gear and you can't even run 225. You better listen to me next time."

That's what happens when you are kin to the greatest racing legend in Indianapolis 500 history.

"I think it was just some miscommunication," young Foyt said. "I ran fifth gear, and I was on the rev limiter pretty good, so I thought I'd go to sixth. But that's the last time I made a call on my own. Now I ask him first. We'll see what he has to say in the garage"

The tall, strapping Foyt has the look of a young Texas rancher who isn't afraid of many things. But he admits he has to see through the fire of his grandfather's eyes to learn some valuable lessons.

"I had a big learning experience today," Foyt said. "Qualifying for this race definitely isn't easy. I figured that out on my first run. Oh well, we'll be better in the race."

Foyt thought his first qualification attempt would have been the better of the two before he saw the second turn from the wrong end of his race car. Foyt estimates he was able to drive in a straight line at 168 miles an hour backwards. He was able to drive it without hitting the wall.

"There was a lot of luck involved with that, especially a spin," Foyt said. "I looked on the computer and I was going 168 mph backward, so it was pretty much a wild ride and I was surprised I didn't hit anything. That might be the longest backwards run anyone has ever done here, but that's not too great of a record to hold. I don't think anybody wants to break it."

	It's been a rough month at Indy for A.J. Foyt IV, left, and his grandfather A.J. Foyt.

Did that impress his hard-to-please grandfather?

"Well, I don't think so, but I think it was a big relief for him that I didn't hit anything also," Foyt said. "You go back to the garage, and it sets you all behind in your mind and everything else. You try to figure out what happened, and you've got to go back out there and start all over. You get yourself back up to speed and get your confidence back up. A second run was definitely not what we were wanting and not the speed that we wanted, but we have to take it."

Foyt said there were very windy, gusty conditions at the time of initial ride, which caused him to spin out of the second turn.

Even A.J. Foyt didn't fare well in his first race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1958 Indianapolis 500, but A.J. IV isn't about to remind him of that.

"I might not want to mention that," Foyt said. "He was the greatest here at this racetrack, and I think a lot of us know it, and definitely he knows it, so I'm not going to say anything about it. I know what this place has done for my grandfather, and it really made his name, like he says, and this place has done a lot, not only for him but for my whole family and just to come here and try to carry on the name and carry on the tradition is just a great opportunity for me.

"I just feel very fortunate to be a part of it."

In addition to having his team owner and legendary grandfather for advice, young Foyt has always relied on four-time winners Rick Mears and Al Unser along with three-time champion Johnny Rutherford for words of wisdom.

"I'm definitely enjoying it," Foyt said. "I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't enjoy it. This is what I love to do, and this is what I've been doing since I was just a little kid. It's been a heck of an experience, being 18 and having to go through all of this and just going out there and trying to do the best that I can.

"This is what I love to do, and I'll be doing it the rest of my life. If my grandfather didn't think I was ready for the Indianapolis 500, then I wouldn't be here."